Discussion (44) ¬

You know what would be pretty much the ultimate super team? Julie, Tyler, and Zodon. Presumably Tyler would start his own because nobody joins, Julie would get recruited because she’s trustworthy, and Zodon would be ordered to join one and those two would be the only ones to take him.

Would Tyler really be a good addition to such a superteam? Since he doesn’t really have any superpowers, his main contribution would involve more ordinary qualities like common sense and the ability to work well with a group. Personally, I’d rather see 84, Zodon and Flea develop their own capacities for leadership and common sense, rather than having the story depend on Tyler’s.

Tyler’s main purpose in the story arc so far has been to show that you don’t need superpowers to be a hero. Moonshadow’s vastly exaggerated reputation with the other kids has also been a source of humor. But super team’s are about the idea of having a group of people with sufficiently diverse skills to be able to solve any problem the team confronts, and Tyler does not have any specific skills to bring to the team that the other team members lack. Tyler can’t fight nearly as well as 84, he’s not nearly as intelligent as Zodon, he’s not nearly as sneaky or good at gathering secrets as the Flea. So if he joined the team, what would he do? Unless the author wanted the other team members to lack common sense or the ability to work together without Tyler’s direction, I don’t see what he could contribute.

Tyler has organizational skills, a fast mind, and the ability to keep a level head in a crisis. Those aren’t “superpowers” per-se, but they’re valuable skills. Tyler makes a good leader – in a more mundane world, he’d make a good manager. In a world of superheroes, he makes an ideal team leader. When you get right down to it, Tyler already created a super team to take down the teleporting upperclassman, and did a good job of leading it.

Sabreur, if Tyler’s potential teammates lack “organizational skills, a fast mind, and the ability to keep a level head in a crisis”, then I would agree that Tyler would have something very important to bring to their partnership. But I don’t think 84, Zodon and the Flea do lack these qualities. And if they do, I’d personally prefer them to develop them in the course of the story, rather than relying on Tyler.

Glenn, what you are missing is that Tyler is the merging of Batman and Nodwick. He uses common sense, genre savviness, and skill to do what the others only do when their powers fail. He has used and led Zodon to handle a nanite ghost, Led a team against a teleporter, outsmarted adult argonians, and saved the Revanent (however that is spelled) Twice in the same rainmaker arc. Tyler has not been given a hyped reputation. He earned it.

I suppose the reason we keep talking past each other on this thread comes down to a simple matter of taste. If Tyler’s your favorite PS238 character, you will want him to join this team that’s forming around 84. I have tried to make clear in each of the posts I’ve made here that I understand that Tyler has some good qualities. As I said in my first post, Tyler shows you don’t need superpowers to be a hero.
So why am I less enthusiastic about Tyler becoming the leader of 84’s team? Because I’d personally prefer to read about 84’s team, or Zodon’s team, than Tyler’s team. 84 suddenly finds herself leading the other FISS’s. Does she need Tyler’s leadership to do so? Zodon is far more intelligent but less emotionally mature than Tyler. He’s also three years younger than Tyler. Can Zodon learn to be more mature, and find out how to use his intelligence to become an effective leader, or does he need Tyler’s leadership?

Remember Tyler was the one who figured out how to take out the teleporting bully that was causing him and everyone around him problems. And he was the one who correctly identified 84 herself as being really helpful, more so than Captain Clarinet.

Ah the old batman power base debates. Yes it’s different characters, but it’s still nice to see another debate form.

To sum it up. Super teams are nice. Tyler is normal. The better question is does he still count as normal considering all the non-normal things he has done?

A better question would be if there will be any villains left (or not doing anything after being pestered too much by “heroes”) or will the supers start interfering with each other causing them all to fail? (A common problem with super villain team ups by the way.)

Actually Tyler does have a superpower, one the rest seem to be lacking, common sense. Add in a healthy self preservation instinct, street smarts, and gadgets, he would be perfect. No need to hound the bad guys, just plant tracers and electronic listening devices and go play video games waiting for the bad guy to act.

I would so read that team. And if Tyler can get elected class president via a write-in campaign, he might be sufficiently well-liked to be okay on a team, especially a team with Julie. Especially a team where Moonshadow sometimes “dropped by” to lend a hand …

I’ve been calling the roster since the start of the story, but now I think I see how it all comes together:
84 gets fed up with the middle-school BS from the other super teams, and forms her own, drawing upon the outcastes. Start with her BFF Poly Mer. Next, recruit Guardian Angel, the Flea (84 is one of the few people with whom he’d actually work) and/or Moonshadow (who is the other). Moonshadow brings in Cpt. Holmes and possibly Cpt. Clarinet. Zodon hangs around with the rest of the “loser crew”, refusing to admit he’s a member of their super team, but helping all the same.

Proving he is “better” than other villains may be the nudge needed. Is he smart enough to scupper all their plans?
Don’t say he is good, an antihero works for their own reasons.
I think this will play for him.

Zodon is very, VERY smart!
“No one has claimed Julie (and she has a horde of followers as 84) and then there’s Tyler… His parents are the mightiest heroes on the planet (arguably, with Argos 1 gone), his twin has powers which make theirs pale by comparison, and he has survived what has been a fairly strenuous school year so far (maybe his genetics are really good?). Team up with them both and get these loosers off my back.”

I assume they run around loosening ropes.
Still, I bet yours has never autocorrected the word “autocorrect” to “skyrocketed”, which mine actually did. I was so glad when I worked out how to turn that feature off, its dictionary was just too small. And far too eager to make stupid guesses.

I don’t see Toby, aka “Ultimate Powers,” teaming up with anybody. Sure, he’s the most powerful super on the planet, but his powers come with side effects, and he has enough of a conscience to never cut loose. (or was that “lose”?). As we saw at the beginning of this story, he’s adopting a “guardian of fate” personal.

I’m blanking on the name, but Toby has his powers from the exact same entities which are the parents of one of the other students. The two of them should probably work together on mastering their powers and learning about how things work.